Alcohol

Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."

I am an over 50-year-old woman, and my boss is an alcoholic. Some days he can be normal, but on most days he yells, screams, and curses at me for no reason. I am scared to death of him. I have been on the job for over two years, but I cannot tolerate his behavior any more. I have sent out resumes and received no replies. I am discouraged. What can you suggest?
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I am the office manager for a small company, and my boss is the president and part owner. The problem is his drinking. I have worked here for over 12 years, and he has been drinking for the last 5. The other owner of the company, who is retired but still checks up on things, has talked to my boss about the problem, so now he finds ways to hide the odor, but still drinks. How can I make my boss understand that his drinking is affecting his health, the way he does business, and the way others see him?
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The owner of the small company where I work is wonderful, but we have all noticed that he is more forgetful, short-fused, and argumentative in the afternoons. We know that he has a drink or two at lunch, and we think this is part of it, but none of us want to tell him. How should we handle this?
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During my mid-year review, I took the opportunity to bring forward my concerns and frustrations since being hired, and my boss stood up, got belligerent and yelled:
“I can’t take this any more. This is a job! There are lots of jobs out there, maybe you should take a look around and go get one where you can sit in a corner and do projects all day. I have a lot of people I need to take care of, not just you. You obviously are not happy but I cannot make you happy. You need to decide if you are happy--and I’d like to know soon--because we are hiring.”
She then stormed out of the room and returned to our department, got her coat, etc. and said to the team coordinator:
“I need to get out of here NOW. I need a cocktail, badly.” [or something to that effect] and left enraged. It was said loud enough that others could hear and were alarmed. I was later texted by co-workers asking, “what happened? …are you ok?”
The Assistant Manager was in the room with me during the yelling. He texted me later saying, "If you want to take a sick day that is fine and if you want to you talk with HR, they will be around next week."
Is this acceptable behavior from my boss and should I discuss with HR? I have heard that HR is not helpful with employees, they tend towards blaming the employee and backing management…. Thank you.Read Ken's Answer